Vijay had clinched silver while Yogeshwar had won a bronze at the recently concluded London Olympics. Yuvraj, on the other hand, was recently included in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup.

In the Olympic qualifying tournament held at New Delhi in February this year Sardar Singh was selected as player of the tournament for his outstanding performance throughout the tournament. After which Sardar was also declared player of the tournament in the 21st Sultan Azlan Shah Cup at Malaysia and Tri-Nation Hockey Tournament at Spain.

The awards selection panel was headed by Athens Games silver-medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. The Khel Ratna carries a cash reward of Rs 7.50 lakh besides a scroll and a medal.